Adam Sandler fans need to know that "The Cobbler" is not his usual gag-a-minute yukfest, and it's not about a fruity dessert with a flaky top, either.

Instead, Sandler stars as Max Simkin, a Jewish everyman who repairs shoes at a humble New York shop inherited from his father, who — obvious foreshadowing alert! — disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

When Max's electric sole-stitching machine breaks down, he heads into the storeroom to use the old foot-pedal antique handed down from his cobbling forebears. He tries on the newly repaired shoes, only to discover they have acquired the magical power to transform him into the body of their owner, who happens to be a trash-talking criminal played by rapper Method Man.

It's a familiar fantasy, the ability to transform into someone else, and Max immediately takes an entire parade of new bodies out for a spin, including, of course, a dashing English gentleman who turns the heads of all the hotties at a local nightclub. But it's that first customer, who is involved in a criminal plot with an evil real-estate developer (sigh), that really gets Max into trouble.

"The Cobbler" is an indie effort written and directed by Thomas McCarthy, best known for the critically acclaimed "The Station Agent" and "The Visitor." It is not his best effort. As a quirky supernatural comedy, it is weighed down by its sincerity, generating far more eye rolls than belly laughs with its message about loving yourself (also: neighborhood preservation).

Not that it doesn't have its moments. Ellen Barkin makes for a laughably cartoonish villain, but Method Man actually turns in a compelling performance — not as a thug, but as Max, endearingly fumbling his efforts at impersonating one. Despite the presence of A-listers Steve Buscemi and Dustin Hoffman, "The Cobbler" is disappointingly predictable, and not half as offbeat as it tries to be.

The film's funniest bit, by far, comes right at the end, but it's far too late. "The Cobbler" definitely won't please the audience for Sandler's mainstream blockbusters, and it's unlikely to win him new fans among the indie intelligentsia, either.